The Guy That Rattled Intel, ARM CEO Warren East, Is Stepping Down

After 12 years that changed the tech world forever, ARM CEO Warren East announced that he's stepping down as of July 1.

All told, East has been with ARM 19 years, taking over as CEO in 2001.

Simon Segars, currently president of ARM, will become the company’s new CEO. Segars is an engineer who worked on some of ARM's earlier processors before becoming president.

East's resignation comes as a surprise, because ARM is doing well and ready for more growth.

When East became CEO, ARM was nothing special. A company that designed chips. Today, its products power most of the world's smartphones. ARM chips were used by nearly 9 billion devices last year.

ARM chips are about to change the computer server industry, too.

The speedy but low-powered chips have been more than a pain in Intel's side, hurting Intel's growth in the all-important mobile device market. Even Intel's best corporate buddy, Microsoft, developed an ARM-based tablet last year, the Surface RT.